The Baltimore Orioles needed a deep start from Dean Kremer tonight. And they got it. The likes of Yennier Cano and Felix Bautista weren’t available out of the bullpen tonight, so the Birds were hoping for a strong outing deep into the game to hold them through and give the bullpen some relief. Kremer’s line: 7.0 IP, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K.
The O’s took an early lead on Jordan Westburg’s solo homer in the second. For the record, it was the first major league home run of Westburg’s career. And it came on a night when runs were going to be at a premium.
Philadelphia would tie the game at one on Schwarber’s sac fly-RBI in the fifth. Unfortunately however, they also lost centerfielder Asron Hicks for the game. Hicks valiantly dove and caught a ball, injuring himself in the process. He was replaced by Colton Cowser.
Ryan Mountcastle would smack his first homer since May in the sixth, giving the Orioles the lead back. However two innings later with Kremer already out of the game, Philadelphia would tie it back up on an RBI-single by Castellanos. For what it’s worth, that, while helping Philadelphia, might also have been the biggest defensive play of the game for the Orioles….
…Harper tried to score all the way from first. Colton Cowser came up throwing, and gunned Harper out at home plate. If he holds up at third instead, Harper keeps the go-ahead run for the home team in scoring position with two outs. Instead he tested the rookie, and that was a bad idea. It ended the inning and we played on. Harper seemed to think he was safe and seemed to want Philadelphia to challenge the call. But needless to say, he was out by a country mile.
Cowser came up to bat in the ninth inning with the go-ahead run on second. And he sent a bloop liner towards the line in left, and it barely landed fair off the left fielder’s mitt. That gave the O’s a 3-2 lead, which despite some tight moments in the last of the ninth, was good enough to win the game.
To review, Colton Cowser wasn’t supposed to play tonight. And his throw home to nail Harper combined with his RBI-double saved the game for the O’s. But that’s part of the story of the 2023 Baltimore Orioles. Every game has a different star. I think we’ve sung this song before. That’s the magic of Orioles baseball.
The series continues tomorrow night at Citizens Bank Park. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Philadelphia’s Taijuan Walker. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 